Apart Forever?
by Dyassie
Summary: Is this the end for Jareth and Sarah?


Apart Forever?

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Disclaimer: I own no rights to the characters of the movie_ Labyrinth_.

This is a short one chapter story. If you read it before please note that I have edited it, which is why it has been updated. The content is the same but I corrected grammatical errors, worked on my phrasing, and added a few more details in an effort to improve my writing style.

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Oh, it was a miserable day. The bone-chilling cold and drizzling rain only drew a heavy veil over the already unbearable conditions. The autumn leaves were being blown about by the blustering winds.

A trio of wretched figures stood huddled beside a gravestone weeping at their loss. A stepmother pulled her coat tighter against the wind as she thought of her stepdaughter who she had grown to love like she had been born from her own womb. She dabbed her eyes with an already wet handkerchief laying a hand of the shoulder of the young boy.

The boy stood lost still not quite understanding that his sister was never coming back. At his mother's touch his tear-rimmed eyes peered up questioningly. His parents were too over-wrought with their own grief to take notice. His gaze drifted back to her headstone. They had told him that she went to join her mother in heaven but that just did not seem fair to him. She was supposed to be here. He wanted his sister with him.

The man who was grieved even more than his wife and son stood stoic unable to release his heartbreak from within. He felt like he had been here before for he had. Years ago he stood beside the neighboring grave in which his first wife laid. On that day, he was comforting his only daughter which he now laid to rest beside her mother.

Still having his daughter had allowed him to move on with his life after his wife's death. But how would he ever handle the loss of his dear precious daughter? He knew he would have to, if only for his wife and son's sakes. He had to be there for his son like he had for his daughter. Still a father was not supposed to outlive his daughter. He balled his hand up biting the down on his knuckle, eyes closed.

He waited in the shadows for them to leave watching and commiserating in their misery. When at last the three finally turned away forcing themselves to depart leaving their missing family member, the man crept from the darkness, his strides gracefully slow weighed down by his own sadness. He had given them the time they needed, but the time was now his.

Kneeling down at the unforgiving stone, he placed a hand upon the rock crying out, "Sarah…." He closed his eyes tight to suppress the tears. This was only the second time in his immortal life the man had ever felt this much pain. She had left him before, but this time it was permanent.

"I loved you so much. I only wish you had seen that. I love you still. I always will."

The rustling sounding from a bush a few feet to his left startled him out of his stupor. He rose to his height when he heard a muted voice mutter, "Ouch, these darn branches." Lacking his normal passion he soberly commanded, "Come out Hoggle. I know it is you in there."

A little tanned skin dwarf emerged slowly from the brushes, a sullen look upon his face.

"I'm sorry. I should have left earlier. I didn't mean to see what I saw. I shouldn't even be here." Fearful of Jareth's reaction, Hoggle hid his face from his king by staring at the ground where his friend laid.

"Nonsense, Hoggle. Unlike me, Sarah actually cared for you. You were her friend. She despised me. You have every right to be here, if not more so than I."

His hand tightened into a fist, mad at himself for treating Sarah as he had during their brief encounters, for not having tried to prove his love to her even after she had rejected him. It depressed Jareth to say what he had, but it was the truth. He knew Sarah had probably never forgiven him for what he had done. His intentions had been true but his methods had been wrong.

He believed that if only he had given the child back when she asked maybe things would have been different between them. He had suffered countless days thinking about it. He wished he had handle things differently. Maybe then…but he knew that it did not matter now. She was gone now and never would be his.

But oh, he would gladly have seen her with someone else if only she was still alive. Watching her from afar would be less painful than this. He dropped his head in despair.

Hoggle glanced up at the one person he feared most in the world, not out of alarm, but out of sympathy. He knew that Jareth had actually loved Sarah. He could see it now. He also knew something else. Something Jareth did not.

"Sarah didn't hate you," Hoggle quietly whispered.

"Do not lie to me dwarf. Of course she did." Jareth felt both anger and gratitude towards this small creature that was trying to comfort him with his deception.

Hoggle shook his head, "No, she didn't. For a while she did of course but not afterwards. She originally blamed you for everything that had happened. Then, she started blaming herself for making that wish to rid herself of her brother. Eventually, she forgave both herself and you but could never bring herself to speak to you to tell you so."

Unable to contain his emotions, Jareth spun around falling to the ground grabbing Hoggle by the shoulders. "Why did you never tell me? I had no right to expect that kindness from you after the way I have treated you, but to keep me in the dark and to let me suffer so was worst than anything I have ever done to you. Things could have been different for Sarah and me. Sarah might have still been…" Jareth could not finish his last statement too devastated by what might have been.

After seeing the way the king had tortured himself after Sarah had left, not letting him know the truth had nearly proved too much for Hoggle. Hoggle had hated the king, but believed no one should have suffered the way Jareth had. The man had lost the one person he truly did care about. He had become a wreck going from an overbearing tyrant to a dark moody, erratic person, who barely ate or slept, spending much of his time just wandering the mazes of the labyrinth. The kingdom had nearly fallen apart back then. Now that this was occurring, Hoggle did not know what would happen to his homeland. Jareth was sure to fall into a depression even worse than the last time.

"I wanted to, but Sarah bound me to secrecy. She made me promise not to tell you. I think she was afraid of hurting you even more. One time after she had found peace with the past, she asked me to be completely honest about how you were fairing. When I told her of your pain, she cried herself to sleep miserable at the devastation she had caused." Hoggle shut his eyes trying to push away the hurtful memories for he was already hurting enough that day.

Upon hearing this, Jareth's already broken heart felt like it had been ripped even further into.

Jareth slowly pulled himself to his feet. "No, Hoggle, even though I selfishly desire that you had, you were right not to. If Sarah asked you not to, then it would not have been right to break her confidence in you. If only things could have not been so…," Jareth trailed off uncertain of the words he wanted.

United in their heartbreak, the Goblin King and the dwarf just stood beside the grave neither wanting to part. Already soaked due to the rain, it went unnoticed when the rain became heavier. Only when night began to fall did Jareth turned to Hoggle to speak.

"Hoggle, Sarah must have found a friend in you for a good reason. From what I have observed, you are loyal, compassionate, wise, and strong-willed when needed. Sarah brought these out in you. Think of her when you need to draw upon these qualities for they are all excellent traits for the new king to have. Ones you will need."

Taking off his necklace he always wore around his neck, Jareth placed the heavy medallion in Hoggle's hands.

"Rule well, my friend," were Jareth's final words as his strolled off into the night fog never to be seen or heard from again.

Hoggle watched him go hoping that one day Jareth may find peace. That one day maybe some miracle would allow Jareth to find his way back to the love of his immortal life.

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Here's to tragic hope. An ever- living immortal and the dead love of his life, can it ever be? Or is this the end? There is only hope.

Although it is never stated that Jareth has immortality in the movie, I have seen where a lot of people feel like it is implied due to the magical world so I ran with that theory.


End file.
